Video: Audi R8 e-tron on the ‘Ring

A couple of months ago, Audi politely informed the world that its upcoming electric supercar - the R8 e-tron - had set a new ‘record' at the Nürburgring.

We know, we know, ‘records' at the ‘Ring come laced with scepticism. But consider the facts before spontaneously typing out digital bile in the comments below. This record is for electric cars. Electric production cars. And since there are none before it, it's probably about right.

It set a time of 8m 09.99s, comfortably eclipsing the 9m 1.338s of the concept Peugeot EX1. And although the fastest EV is the Toyota P001 racer, that car is basically a track-ready Radical, not something you'll be able to pick up from your local dealer with finance and such.

Marcus Winkelhock - one quarter of an Audi team that took overall victory at the Nürburgring 24hrs earlier this year - piloted the R8 e-tron to its record run, and he was quite astonished by its prowess. "The torque with which the electric motors propel the car uphill beats everything that I know - even if they make hardly any noise in the process."

Up until now, you could have only imagined what he was talking about. Now, you get to see first hand what it's like to pilot a 375bhp electric supercar with 3,614lb ft of torque available from a standing start. Because there's a video. And it's a bit... quiet. Turns out the revolution will be televised, only it's quite a calm, civilised affair.

*In other Audi news, the firm's classic motorsport bods have announced the retrieval of a classic 1939 Auto Union Type D racer, which had spent many, many years in the isolated acres of the Russian wilderness. Have a click here for the pics. It's a bit of a lovely thing.